Batan, Batanes

Batanes has always been in my bucket list. And so when Seair had it's anniversary promo, we booked tickets right away. The P4,000 roundtrip ticket was a steal!

With travel buddy Isa, we headed to arguably the most beautiful place in the country.

Batanes is composed of 3 main islands-- Batan, where the capital Basco is located; Sabtang, a 45 minutes boatride South of Batan and probably my favorite island in the country so far; and Itbayat, which they say is a giant uplifted coral reef, a 4-hour boatride north of Batan.

We arrived Basco, Batanes in a drizzling Saturday morning. We took a tricycle from the airport to Ivatan Lodge, a government-run inn. Accommodation costs P200/head/night (the cheapest place to stay in Batanes). The place is clean, the rooms are huge. Our only concern is that the bathroom has no sink, but then again it's only P200/night.

Having no exact itinerary in mind, we walked around the town to look for a local tourist center. Apparently, there was none. We saw SeaAir BCTA (Batanes Cultural Travel Agency) Office, went inside and inquired for a guided tour, but they don't offer any walk-in services. So we went back to the lodge, ask the receptionist if he has a tour contact and he recommended us to Lydia Roberto, the manager of Batanes Seaside Lodge. She offered us private 8 hour Batan tour for P1,600.

We started the tour at 10am. We headed south of Batan Island.

Chawa View Deck, Mahatao
Great view of the Pacific Ocean.


Chawa View Deck, Batanes

Batan, Batanes

Marlboro Country
Communal pasteur and with awesome view of rolling hills, and both  Pacific ocean and South China Sea.



Marlboro Country



Honesty Cafe

A store without a tindero/tindera. You just get what you want, and leave your payment by the counter.





Honesty Cafe



Dakay's House and Old Spanish Bridge

Dakay's House



Old Spanish Bridge

 We headed back to Basco for lunch. We pre-ordered to Lydia over the phone Tatus (Coconut crab), Sizzling Cuttlefish, and rice, The Coconut crab was sooo yummy with its sweet meat and sinfully delicious aligue. We ordered another set of Tatus. We were quite shock when we received our bill of P1,400 for 2 people. The coconut crab cost P800 per kilo. Lesson: ask for prices first.


After lunch, we toured the Northern part of Batan Island, Batanes.

Mt. Carmel Church, Tukon, Batanes

Mt. Carmel Batanes


Fundacion Pacita

"This Batanes resort was once the home studio of internationally-acclaimed artist Pacita Abad."

Fundacion Pacita

Japanese Tunnel



Valugan Boulder Beach

The boulders were from andesite rocks spewed by Mt. Iraya many years ago. The rocks were smoothed over time by the tides of Pacific Ocean.

Boulder Beach (with our tourguide Mang Narding)

Naida Rolling Hills

We kept singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music..." (And you'll see why. :) )



Basco Lighthouse

Our day ended watching the Sunset in Basco Lighthouse.

Quick Tips:

How to get to Batanes

Seair offers daily flights to Batanes.

Accommodations in Basco, Batanes

Ivatan Lodge

Perhaps the cheapest rooms for rent in Batanes

Rates: P200/pax/night

Contact: Margarita Varga at +63928.245.13.37

Batanes Seaside Lodge

If you want to stay by the beach

Rates: P1200-P1500/room for 2 pax

Contact: Lydia Roberto at +63921.229.01.20, +63915.940.48.23 or email lroberto_seaside@yahoo.com

DDD Habitat Lodge:

The newest built in Basco (free Wifi! :) )

Rates: P600/fanroom, P1200/aircon room

Contact: Noemi S. Cruz at (02)6819085/ (02) 6473534, GLOBE +639065177580; SMART +639084641319 / +639098770044 or email dddhabitat@yahoo.com

Fundacion Pacita:

The only high-end inn in Batanes

Rates start at P4,500

Contact: http://www.fundacionpacita.ph/

Danao Adventure Park, Bohol

In celebration of Isa's birthday, we headed to Danao Adventure Park in Bohol. This supposedly marks the start of the Destination Celebration series. We plan to do all those adventure-y stuff from kayaking, root climbing, river trekking, spelunking, "Suislide", "The Plunge" etc etc.  Little did we know that our adventure errr misadventure will start even before we set foot of Bohol.



Destination Celebration!

We took the earliest flight of Cebu Pacific. About 530 AM we arrived Cebu and waited for Ian S to pick us up from the airport. We headed to a fastfood chain for a quick breakfast,  and when we return to our vehicle (a white Fiera), alas it wouldn't start. Let's name this Misadventure Number 1.  An hour or so passed, a back-up vehicle arrived and we were dropped in Cebu Beach Club where we lazed off the rest of the day (swimming, sleeping, staring at the horizon with mouths half-open) while we waited for Isa as she run some errands and for Ivan who will fly in in the afternoon.

We were picked-up in the afternoon, this time by a different vehicle, to go to the RoRo terminal that will bring us to Bohol. Then, our vehicle overheated. Let's call this Misadventure Number 2. The driver walked to the nearest gas station, a good kilometer or so away to buy  some coolant. After a while, the car's temperature went down, we rushed our way to the terminal.

Car overheats in the middle of Cebu traffic.

We left our backpacks on the back of the pick-up since we will be bringing in the vehicle to Bohol. (That's why we took the RoRo in the first place). We settled in our seats and ready ourselves for the great Danao adventure.

RoRo Ride

But wait! Remember the pick-up with all our bags that was supposed to be onboard of the RoRo? It wasn't on board. Remember that white fiera that picked us up from the airport that we never saw again? That white fiera was the one registered to travel with us to Bohol. Therefore, the pick-up with all our stuff won't be travelling with us for the night because the papers were not fixed. Let's call this Misadventure Number 3.
(Note to self: Have my backpack with me ALL the time)

So we arrive Bohol late in the evening with our stuff left behind in Cebu. We were wearing the same clothes we were wearing since about 3AM . I was feeling sticky and dirty. Well, I was sticky and dirty. Note: Chlorine (we didnt wash up properly after swimming in the pool) + Cebu SMOG (waited for the overheated car to cool down in the middle of Cebu traffic) + Ocean Sea breeze  + Sweat = Kadiri. 

The next morning was much better. Our bags finally arrive! We ate a hearty breakfast, geared up and ready ourselves for the great Danao Adventure. And here it goes...

Day 1:
Kayaking
Short River Trek
Root Climb + Rapell (15m)
Suislide
Sky Lanterns

Ian G Rope Swing



My attempt to rope swing



River Kayak



River trek



Root Climbing

Rapelling



Suislide

After dinner, we lit up some sky lanterns. One sky lantern landed on a hill and burned some twigs. We kinda created a little forest fire. 



Sky Lanterns

 Day 2:
Spelunking
60m Rapelling
"The Plunge"

Inside the Cave

60m Rapel

The Plunge

Woohoo Certificate!

Our Home in Danao: Jose L. Gonzaga Farmers Foundation

For details and inquiry, please check out Danao's official website.

Fly Over Mt. Pinatubo

I had the rare opportunity to ride a 4-Seater US Airforce aircraft. I was tasked to do an ocular inspection of an activity site, and the fastest and most efficient way to go there is to fly. (Just some perks of the job.  :) )

Capt. Jimmy made a short detour to fly over Mt. Pinatubo.  It was one heck of a sight!

Mt. Pinatubo aerial shot

Capt. Jimmy

My Ride: Royal Navion

Bangkok

Perhaps the best promo airfare deal I've ever taken. Roundtrip ticket to Bangkok with meals on-board for only P4,000! Thank you very much Philippine Airlines:)

We spent a couple days shopping in Platinum Mall.

Nesly

And a day for the city tour--temples, Royal Palace

and of course, watched "the" show in Patpong.